Well, I am sorry to say that things did not work out as I thought they would living at Lismore for various reasons so we have bought a little cottage in the village of Ebor, population about 100. We have partially moved in even though settlement is still over a week away. The vendor (an elderly widow) let us in after exchange so that we could mow the lawn and get started on the cleaning and painting. The house has not been lived in since June 2009 and the previous occupants were a pair of geriatric smokers with two little stinky dogs.
Cleaning this house will be a full time job for months to come. The tobacco smell is at times overpowering and every single surface will need to be cleaned to remove the smoke residue from ceiling to floor. Being a reformed smoker from the time when a packet of 20 Winfield reds cost 47 cents at Franklins, I should be a bit sympathetic I suppose but I am NOT! The stink! A curse upon anyone who smokes indoors. You'd think with all that we know about the effects of smoking on the body that there would be less and less people taking the filthy habit up but, no. Stupid, stupid, stupid.
Anyway, back to the house. Upon closer inspection, there are filthy marks on every doorway, light switch and the window glass is yellow. The stove is in a less than desirable state so I have unearthed the trusty Sumbeam electric frypan and am cooking our meals in that until the sdtove cleaning fairy pays me a call. Fortunately the carpets have been professionally cleaned as the real estate agent said when he first saw the house, the smell was dreadful and there was no way he could market the property until the carpets were done. In retrospect I should have hired a professional cleaning company to do the house top to toe before we moved in but that would have cost a bomb. I know if I was a professional cleaner I would charge like a wounded bull to do this place. Nevertheless, I can see the potential of this house, how wonderful it will look when it has been painted and the arrangement of the rooms is asthetically pleasing.
The dogs now have a large grassy yard to run around in any old time they want to and there are a couple of Kelpies next door they can get to know through the fence plus a bonus - the other side is a large paddock with an old wooden shed and a couple of horses. Lou Lou likes to bark at the horses. I have also seen a few rabbits there. I just love the view out the loungeroom and bedroom windows of the horse paddock. Matt has a large double shed down the back where he can tinker away as long as he likes. The Guy Fawkes river is 200 metres away and is full of trout.
There is no mail delivery or garbage service so we must rock up to the local post office which is a postage stamp size building (pun intended :-) to collect our daily mail and the tip is 2km out of town. *sigh* I am going to love being here full time. Still a little stuff to move from Lismore which we will do over the next couple of weeks.
I will definitely NOT miss the ants in everything, the humidity, trying to sleep on a hot night, the cane toads, mozzies, having to do the doggy shuffle to avoid Lou Lou and Peg fighting, not being able to cook 'cause I got no kitchen, having to go to the main house to shower and use the loo, and having to pee in a bucket at night.
Must finish off now as I need to light another incense stick which helps to override the tobacco smell. Crikey.
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